Write to reply
■ I was very moved by 92-year-old reader Moira Wiggins’ poem The Irrelevant Elephant (January 1) and by the fact that she’d sent it to the wonderful Sir David Attenborough and got a reply.
The statistic that poachers kill elephants at the rate of one every 15 minutes has prompted me to donate to the Save the Elephants charity.
However, I was saddened to read about TDL’s “cheating” using chapter summaries of Lord of the Flies, instead of reading them for herself.
The whole point of the homework is to immerse the student into Golding’s narrative skills, prose style and presentation of characters. Moreover, practices like this start the slippery slope into plagiarism, which, unfortunately, I often witnessed when I was an English teacher.
Helen Tabern Garswood, Merseyside
Ed: Couldn’t agree more with you about the elephants, Helen, however we all have classics we didn’t enjoy reading for exams. I struggled with the gloominess of Thomas
Hardy’s Jude The Obscure. Also TDL has discovered that William Golding’s book was rejected
20 times by publishers, which she says just proves her point!
■ I must take issue with you describing students as “freeloading” back at their parents for Christmas. I daresay they do enjoy their mum’s cooking etc, but it seems you have a bone to pick with students and teenagers. Don’t you remember your own teen years?
Ms Grant, Leicester
Ed: It’s a slippery slope – let students and teenagers into your heart, and before you know it, you’re handing over the car keys and bank account details. I’m only pulling your leg, Ms Grant, as some of my favourite people are teenagers. Just don’t tell them that!
■ While on a recent train visit to Liverpool, I called into the HMV shop to see what new Northern Soul and Soul CDs they had in stock. I picked up two CDs and went to the counter to pay and that’s when I saw these badges for a certain mother and daughter duo. I had a little
smile to myself and thought I would like to get them and send them to you.
I’m 70 next year but I still like listening to my Northern Soul with a glass of whisky... well, OK, more than one. When I pick up a CD and see what tracks are on it, I think back to how many years it took me to get the same records. Where’s the music adventure in that?
George Such, Winsford, Cheshire
Ed: Bless you, George, thank you for our badges. I will wear my Northern Soul target badge with pride, although TDL is concerned that hers doesn’t fully describe her personality. She admits: “I don’t just have a dark side – I am completely dark!” Mwahahahahah…
■ You must listen to I’m On My Way by Dean Parrish, and if you have Mixcloud, Greg Wilson has got a boss Northern Soul post. Get the talc out on the kitchen floor and you’re away... ha, ha. Peter Connor, Bootle, Liverpool
Ed: As you know, I’m a huge Northern Soul fan, so thank you for all the music recommendations, Peter, and my new Northern Soul logo. Let me know if there are any great Northern Soul nights I should try on my next visit up North.